by E. M. Moore
“Mother needs me to bring her.” Courtney grabbed a piece of paper from her pile of things and wrote with a pen. She folded the paper up, taking care to crease the lines just so and then placed it under the candle. She turned to face in Jennie's direction and started to chant.
If you are turning toward me
know I turn also to you,
If you are thinking of me
know I think also of you,
If you are saying my name
know that I say your name,
and call you to me
Marlene
Marlene
The other witches joined in for one last Marlene.
A piece of my hair flew into my face. I moved the strands around my ear, still staring at the witch circle. Each hooded figure concentrated ahead, their faces a marble of emotion. Even Jennie stood transfixed. She didn’t try to catch my eye again.
Drake twitched beside me while I sat completely still, heart palpitating as cold blood rushed throughout me. The wind tore leaves from trees and sprinkled them about. Some landed on the dark robes. One even landed on one of the white candles and disintegrated into smoke. Poof, it was gone. It was free for only a few seconds, then left nothing but air as it was carried away on the wind.
The longer the coven sat motionless, the more nerves raked through me. I didn’t even bother to look at Drake. His hand twitched a few times, but I was sure he sat as hypnotized as I was. No way would he be able to tell me there was nothing going on now.
The vibration of a car hummed its way through the forest. I heard the ting of the suspension as it bounced along the mud ruts of the old work road. I swiveled and found a white car pulling up behind the other vehicles.
Drake careened his head. “Ho-ly shit.”
“What?” I whispered.
He squinted. A figure stepped out of the car and walked blithely up the rock spackled road. It was a she, I could tell. She jingled her keys in her hand before placing them in her pockets.
“Oh. My. God.”
“What?” I grabbed Drake’s wrist. “What is it?"
Drake dragged his eyes across every inch of the trail the girl walked. “Marlene,” he whispered. As she entered the circle, a collective release of breath shocked the coven into moving again.
“No.” I shook my head. “No way.”
Drake nodded. “Trust me. It’s her.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Isabella
1639
Once the candle sputtered out, the sobs echoing around the darkened room were endless.
Isabella fell into disturbed sleep and woke to whispered cries or choked wails. She made no move for the woman, the witch, though her heart melted away beneath her smock.
Might she have done the same for Thomas?
A creak of wood reverberated through the small cellar and a shaft of soft light drifted down on the earthen floor. Mrs. Shipton’s cries hushed to whimpers. Feet descended the groaning steps until the whole figure revealed itself at the bottom.
Magistrate Ludington.
He turned to Isabella. “You.”
Mrs. Shipton cried out again. “You know she is not…you know she—”
He twisted to face the witch and bent over. His hand smacked her cheek and trailed across every inch of her lips and nose. “Silence witch! Do not speak your blasphemy!”
Isabella tightened herself into a little ball in front of the wall, wishing she could hide herself in it. He turned toward her. “We are ready for you.”
Mrs. Shipton crawled across the floor, blood flowing from her nose, and grabbed at his breeches. Mr. Ludington raised his hand again and though she cowered, she still held tight to the fabric. “John, no, you cannot do this. You are a good man. You cannot do this.”
The judge paused before kneeling in front of Mrs. Shipton, tears running freely down her face, begging him to stop. He reached out and the old woman flinched. He cupped the side of her head in his hands. “What would you have me do, Love?”
Mrs. Shipton squeezed her eyes shut tight and more tears sprung forth. “Save us. Save us now.”
“But that will only help you.” He leaned forward and kissed her, his lips moving softly on hers. Isabella’s heart clenched, reminding her of the only kiss she shared with Thomas. He pulled away in disgust. “But what of me? Be branded a liar, a joke? No. That will not happen. You will burn before then.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Sarah
Marlene chatted with Courtney like it was the most normal thing in the world for her to be the center of attention at a witch ritual. She tossed her hair. “Sorry, I’m late. I totally forgot I was going to come today and then…” Her voice trailed, making an imaginary non-excuse for her random appearance.
It wasn’t necessary. Courtney summoned her here. Courtney and the others summoned her. I saw it with my own eyes. I was glad I did because if I hadn’t, I wouldn't have believed it. I heard the name Marlene, watched as the white car pulled up and Marlene stepped out. I heard the words. The coven’s magic summoned a person.
Impossible. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
As Marlene talked, Courtney grabbed an object and fiddled with it. A tethered, blowing leaf invaded my vision so I bowed my head to see around it. At Marlene’s retreating words, Courtney held her object up.
It was a toy doll made with plain, ivory colored canvas, which bore rope tied all around the body.
Marlene stood dumbly, staring at Courtney with unseeing eyes.
Courtney brought the mirror and the doll together and dropped them. The mirror hit first, shattering. The clatter of the glass ripped through the silent forest and then the doll thudded on top. Courtney grabbed the doll from the wreckage and stored it away under her robe. “It is done, Mother.”
Zombified Marlene stood while Courtney went around and undid the circle, calling goodbye to the goddesses and blowing out candles. Afterward, she stuck her hand through the crook of Marlene’s elbow and led her away. Once they broke the plane of the invisible sphere, Marlene asked, “Oh, did I miss it?” A puppy frown broke her marble stature.
“Yeah, I’m sorry girl. We couldn’t wait.”
“Oh alright.” They hugged by the road and Marlene walked away as if she hadn’t a care in the world. She waved to everybody and then got in her car and drove off. The other witches did the same. All of them, even Jennie, retreated to their cars and drove away as if this was any other normal night.
When the clunk of the last car shuddered over the knotty, hardened mud, I finally turned to look at Drake.
“We’ve got a mess on our hands,” he said, interlacing his fingers with mine.
“You’re right about that one.” As we walked out of the leafy jungle, I jumped at every crowing bird and whispering insect. Drake steered me toward the old work road, helping me keep my balance while we trekked over the hardened ruts. “You saw that right?” I asked. “All of it? I mean, they called Marlene and then she drove up, like, what? Less than five minutes later?”
“Uh huh.”
“Is this usual Adams behavior…or is this town getting crazier by the day?”
Drake blew a hard breath out his nose. “This is…this is…nothing I’ve seen before.”
“But it had to, right? Don’t you see this all adding up somehow? Your local crazy coven o’ witches actually has powers. The detective said my dad was found with a Wiccan symbol on him when he died. I mean, come on. What more evidence do we need?”
Drake tightened his grip around my fingers. “I know it adds up all nice and neat in your head, but I can’t wrap my brain around it. I grew up with those guys. It’s not like I've seen people walk around casting spells.”
“Maybe you weren’t looking hard enough.”
Drake tossed his head from side to side. “This is crazy. What we’re thinking is crazy.”
“Maybe. But, I think we both can agree now.” I stopped in mid-stride and held back on Drake’s arm. He spun to face me. "I’m in deep troub
le.” I paused, mouth dropping wide, as recognition sliced through me. “Do you think that's what they did to me?”
“What?”
“I blacked out. I woke up. The symbol painted on my forehead. Oh my god, Drake. They put a spell on me. They lured me here, did who knows what, and then sent me on my way again.” My hands trembled as I reached for him. “And that doll. What does the doll mean? Do they have a doll for me? Is this some voodoo thing or something? Are they going to prick me with needles and kill me?”
My body surged alive, mentally searching for any weirdness or pin pricks. Drake soothed the rising panic by caressing my back.
He forced me away at arm’s length. “You trust Jennie, right?” I nodded, my face getting hotter. He looked down at the forest floor. "She would’ve told you if they did some sort of weird spell on you. You’re fine.”
I looked to the starlit sky. He had a good point. If Jennie was involved in something like that, I believed she’d tell me. “Maybe Courtney did it on her own. Or with Mother. Whoever she is.”
Drake pulled me in for a hug again, making me feel like a small child. “Probably just a goddess they pray to. I think you’re fine. We’re going to get to the bottom of this. Do you know where Jennie is right now?”
“No, but I’m sure she wants to talk to us as much as we want to talk to her.”
“Good. You find her. I’ll go to the cops…without you.” He winked. "It’ll be better that way.”
***
I dropped Drake off at his house to grab his truck and then sped down the mile of the back road to get to Rose’s. A car flashed its lights in my face as I was about to make the turn into my aunt’s driveway. The car was nestled across the road right next to the trees. The interior lights came on in the car and Jennie waved.
I pulled the big SUV over and jumped out. The air was brisk and wisps of fog descended low into the fields. My foot caught the lip of the blacktop and I tripped forward, catching myself with my hands on the rough surface. I stood, brushed off the pebbles on my shorts, took another step, and froze.
The roar of an engine accelerated toward me. There were no headlights, but a mass of black, an enormous shape in the horizon, fired straight for me. A horn pierced the silence, blaring a warning. I threw myself backward right before the vehicle flew past.
I rolled off the front end of the Escalade and landed half on the blacktop, half on the rocky dirt that lined the road before the fields took over.
My head screamed and my right elbow burst in fireworks of pain. I rolled to the side and took my elbow in my hand; sticky liquid ran into my palm. The black phantom mass was a shadow in the distance now. There were still no headlights illuminating the forest and I didn’t see red taillights either.
“Sarah!” Jennie’s voice called. The thwack of her flip-flops echoed as they pounded the road. A touch on my shoulder startled me. "Oh my god! Are you okay?”
I moaned and started to cry, a kick-start to my pain, like a gasp after you’ve choked on something and can’t breathe. Big, fat drops ran from my eyes and splashed onto the dirt.
“Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod. That guy tried to hit you! Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?” Jennie paced in front of me and then ran off toward the driveway. “Rose! Rose?!”
My head swirled. I didn’t do anything but rock back and forth. Snot and tears running, dripping off the side of my face into a mixed puddle. I squeezed my eyes, saw the shape roaring at me again and cried out. My throat started to hurt.
The driver didn’t even turn around. They didn’t even slow down. The images of my father’s accident and my almost-accident merged. This was intentional.
My chest expanded and broke repeatedly, my voice wailing into the empty space around me. In between sobs, I heard Jennie talking rapidly. “…this guy…I don’t know……he sped up. I honked at him to warn him, but he didn’t stop. He went faster. Then Sarah looked up and threw herself backwards. It was so close, so close. It almost hit her. Oh my god. He almost hit her.”
Jennie knelt down beside me. Pebbles crunched as Rose approached. A comforting rub warmed the skin on my bicep. I winced and the hand pulled away a little. “Listen to me very carefully, Sarah. Can you hear me?”
I nodded, snot draining into my open mouth.
“Are you hurt?”
I nodded again.
“How bad?”
“I don’t know!”
The hand rubbed my arm again. “I need you to calm down so you can tell me. Take a deep breath.”
I shuddered in a breath and winced.
“There you go…let it out now…nice and slow.”
I repeated the actions my aunt’s words demanded, cries slowing finally, though silent tears still leaked from me.
“Now tell me child. Are you hurt? Is anything broken?”
I took stock of my body. I moved my fingers first, which seemed to be fine. Then my legs. Both okay. Then, I moved my elbow, pulling my palm away from the radiating pain.
“Oh dear, you’ve got a nasty scrape on that elbow.” Rose took my hand and peered down. I watched through a kaleidoscope of tears, my aunt's face angular and sometimes blurry. “Jennie, run to the kitchen and wet me some towels.” Jennie’s quick retreating footsteps padded the grass. “How’s your head?”
I could still think clear enough. It hurt, pounded even, but I didn’t feel I was in any imminent danger. “I think it’s okay."
Rose smoothed back the hair from my face. “Dear, dear, so you can talk?” I tried to smile since she was trying so hard to make me smile. "Do you think you can get up?” she asked.
Rose held out a hand and I rolled to my back, grabbing it with the arm that didn’t take the full brunt of the fall. She tugged and I got up on shaky legs. With an arm around my waist, Rose led me back to the big house.
Halfway, Jennie met us and a cool cloth swathed my elbow. It felt better. It still burned a little, but it was better than nothing. “Thanks, Jennie.”
“Are you okay?” Her voice was frightened. It was like nothing I’d ever heard her sound like before. It was tiny, sad, not the usual ass-kicking attitude she liked to put on.
I nodded and forced a smile to my lips. “Think so.”
In the kitchen, Jennie and Rose worked to freshen me up. Rose said the injuries weren’t too bad. “A bump to the noggin and a scrape on the elbow. Lucky.”
Jennie agreed and when she went to recount what happened, Rose silenced her with a warning stare. Jennie’s mouth slammed shut in mid-sentence. “If you want, Jennie can walk you up to your room, but then she has to go. You need some rest."
“Yeah, that’d be nice.”
Before Jennie could help me up the stairs, Rose moved into our path. “Next time, don’t be where you shouldn’t be.” She smiled and placed a soft kiss on my cheek. “I don’t want to have to worry about you when I’ve got so many other things going on."
I nodded and allowed Jennie to lead me away. Her grip on my hand tightened. “Weird much?”
“Huh?”
“Your aunt,” Jennie whispered as we walked slowly up the stairs.
I winced as we passed by the railing, my hurt elbow skimming against the wood. “Didn’t notice.”
Jennie opened the door to my room and turned the lights on before we went in. “Do you want to call Drake? I see you guys are really getting close.” Jennie smiled as she helped me into bed.
I reached around to my pocket and groaned. “Ugh, my phone.”
“What?”
“It was in my pocket when I fell. Can you get it out for me?”
I twisted and Jennie reached into my pocket and brought it out. Well, what was left of it considering it was broke to hell. The screen was smashed and we couldn’t even get it to turn on.
A voice called up the stairs. “Time to go now, Jennie.”
Jennie looked toward the hallway and then back to me. “What’s his number? I’ll call him from my phone.”
“I don’t know. It was in my c
ell.” I threw the dilapidated phone onto the quilt and it bounced off and crashed onto the floor.
Jennie’s eyes followed it. “Alrighty then. I’ll call when I get home. I’m sure his number is in the phonebook or something.”
“Thanks.”
She turned and walked toward the door, then spun around. “Can I see you tomorrow? We have lots to discuss.”
I sighed mentally. As if I didn’t already have enough to worry about. Now I had to recover from almost being run over, like my dad. Like my…dad. “Do you think this…?” I motioned to my body. “…is related to that?” I jabbed my thumb in the direction of the window and hopefully pointed to somewhere in the vicinity of the clearing.
“Yes, I do, Sarah.” Jennie lifted her shirt and brought out her Wicca handbook. “Here. You’re going to need this.”
Ten minutes later, the phone rang. This time, I didn’t have the strength to creep down the stairs and listen in on the conversation. I knew it was Drake, though Rose never came up the stairs and handed it to me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Isabella
1639
“Come!”
Two men descended the steps of the dank cell. Isabella wrapped herself in her arms. She did not look up. She did not want to see who came for her.
A hand pulled at her sleeve and she resisted only for a moment before remembering the blow of the judge’s palm onto Mrs. Shipton’s face. She allowed the magistrate to move her, but her strength and her senses gave him nothing. He twirled her around like a puppet, holding her, making sure she stood on two feet and dragged her when she did not. “Help me, you fools. She is too weak to stand on her own.”
The two men hesitated, so Magistrate Ludington grabbed hold of Isabella’s hands and pulled. It knocked her to the floor and he dragged her unmoving body across the damp dirt. Her back hit the stair and her feet thudded every time they landed on a new step. He grunted at her weight, heaving her up until she lay completely flat on her back.